Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team May delivers ‘hard facts’ to Leavers and Remainers in Brexit speech… Theresa May said the time to face the “hard facts” of Brexit has come as she told Leavers, Remainers and the EU they must all be prepared to compromise. In her most pragmatic Brexit speech to date, the Prime Minister said she would give ground to achieve a deal, but only if Brussels accepted that in the coming negotiations “neither of us can have exactly what we want”. Mrs May set out fresh details of how Britain’s “fair and open” future trading relationship with the EU will work, including on the crucial question of how to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland. In a bold message to the leaders of the other 27 EU countries, she said: “We know what we want, we understand your principles, we have a shared interest in getting this right – so let’s get on with it.” – Telegraph There was nothing today that suddenly revealed a real change in the government’s thinking. That gives her critics cause for concern, and EU sources are emollient, rather than immediately won over. But the message that Theresa May wanted, and arguably needed to get across, was way beyond any of the detailed arguments that lead the Tory party, the EU, or both, down a cul-de-sac. This was not intended to be the final word. What the prime minister endeavoured to do instead was to say to the EU, let’s do a deal. It won’t be easy, I’m confessing to my party and the public that I won’t get everything they want, but I get it, and now, after everything that’s happened, let’s talk. – Laura Kuenssberg for BBC News ‘Hard facts’ for both sides in Brexit talks – Theresa May – BBC News May says red lines will hurt whatever the deal – The Times (£) Theresa May’s 3 Brexit audiences – Politico Plaudits at home but EU sniffs ‘cakeism’ – The Times (£) May can’t say if Brexit is worth it – Guido Fawkes Not time to nitpick on Brexit – Jacob Rees Mogg – BBC News This May speech was aimed at the EU27 – not her own party. And its message was: I want to have my cherries and eat them – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome May’s unrealistic speech showed she really is cherry-picking now – Andrew Lilico for CapX Theresa May’s masterclass in mutual dissatisfaction – Katy Balls for The Spectator Theresa May is holding out for some cherries from Brussels – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Canada illustrates that the bespoke deal May wants is perfectly achievable – Ashley Fox MEP for ConservativeHome May tries to strike an optimistic tone on what Brexit can do for Britain – Isabel Hardman for The Spectator A long and winding road – Guardian editorial At last an upbeat Theresa May has started to show what Brexit can look like – The Times editorial (£) The ball is now in the EU’s court after Theresa May’s game-changing Brexit speech – The Sun editorial Brexit. Compare and contrast. On divergence, real Cabinet debate. On immigration, a stance quietly shelved -Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome If there is no Brexit deal after Theresa May’s speech, it will be the EU’s fault, not Britain’s – Telegraph editorial (£) > Watch on BrexitCentral’s Youtube Channel: Theresa May hits back at the EU’s “cherry-picking” claims Theresa May on why the EU needs a financial services deal Theresa May: There are hard facts for the EU to face as well Theresa May’s Mansion House Speech (full) > Also watch: BrexitCentral’s Hugh Bennett responds to Theresa May’s Mansion House Speech …but says the EU must work with Britain to avoid hard Irish border… The peace process will not be damaged by Brexit, Theresa May has said in a highly anticipated speech. The prime minister said Britain and the EU had a joint responsibility to find a solution over how to avoid a hard border between the North and the Republic. Any hard border or a customs border in the Irish sea which broke up the country’s national common market, was unacceptable, she said. Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, has welcomed the speech, but warned that the Irish government will need “more detailed and realistic proposals”. Mrs May said she believed a “frictionless border” could be kept through a new customs partnership or a streamlined arrangement. – The Times (£) …as the Irish Taoiseach welcomes May’s commitment to the Good Friday Agreement… The Taoiseach has called for “more detailed and realistic” proposals from Britain over Brexit, warning “time was short” before the UK officially leaves the EU… However, the Taoiseach said he welcomed that she gave a number of “important reassurances today”, including restating her overall goal of a “very close relationship” with the EU and the Good Friday Agreement. “I particularly welcome her clear commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland peace process and the need to avoid a hard border,” said a statement from the office of the Taoiseach. – Irish Independent …and May’s Brexit plan on regulation is welcomed by business figures British business leaders on Friday welcomed Theresa May’s commitment to regulatory alignment between the UK and the EU across multiple industries after Brexit, but criticised her lack of detail, notably on future customs arrangements. The prime minister said in her keynote Brexit speech that the UK would pursue a future relationship with the EU where “relevant” British regulatory standards would remain “substantially similar” to those of the bloc. On state aid and competition rules, Britain’s regulations would stay “in step” with the EU’s, said Mrs May. – FT (£) Civil Service blocked Boris Johnson from releasing Irish border memo Boris Johnson was prevented from releasing the full text of his leaked note on the Irish border by Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, it has emerged. The Times understands that the foreign secretary felt “traduced” when sections of a detailed memo he had prepared for the prime minister on customs arrangements on the island of Ireland after Brexit were published in the press on Tuesday evening. Mr Johnson said in the letter that it would be “wrong to see the government’s task as maintaining no border” and instead admitted its main task was to “stop this border becoming significantly harder”. – The Times (£) Siemens announces new UK train factory despite Brexit threat to quit German manufacturing giants Siemens have announced plans for a £200 million train factory in East Yorkshire – despite dire Brexit warnings that they would quit Britain. In the latest U-turn by a big businesses – just days after Airbus made a similar backtrack on their Project Fear warnings – Siemens said 1,700 jobs will be created at their new plant in Goole. It will employ 700 people in skilled engineering and manufacturing roles, plus an additional 250 people during the construction phase and further new jobs in the supply chain. Before the historic referendum in 2016, Siemens warned there would be “significant and negative long-term effects” if the country backed Leave. – The Sun David Cameron hits out at Brexit ‘wrong turn’ David Cameron called Brexit a “wrong turn” on Friday – but defended his decision to hold the referendum that led to it. The former Tory Prime Minister said the UK should now look to the future and be “happy neighbours” with the European Union. He spoke at the Abu Dhabi Ideas Weekend, held to share ideas on global challenges, in a session on the “polarisation” of society which some see as the cause of Britain’s Brexit vote and America’s election of President Donald Trump. Mr Cameron campaigned for the Remain side in Britain’s 2016 referendum and quit Downing Street the day after the vote for Brexit, despite having said he would see out his term whatever the result. – Express Dutch PM: Forget the Brits, here’s a real vision for Europe As Europe waited for a speech in London about the U.K.’s future outside the EU, the Dutch prime minister was speaking in Berlin about the bloc’s future without Britain. “You had a choice today. You could have listened to a speech in the U.K. about a future without Europe. Or a speech in Berlin by someone who believes in Europe and wants to talk about the best way to move forward with Europe,” Mark Rutte said minutes before Theresa May was due to speak on Britain’s future. (Rutte spoke in English, to hammer home the point). – Politico Jacob Rees-Mogg: Leavers will have concerns with Mrs May, but now is not the time to nitpick This was a good speech by the Prime Minister. She was forthright that she is delivering on the promises of the previous speeches and the manifesto commitments: this Government will take Britain out of the customs union, the single market and the European Court of Justice. Mrs May is taking a sensible, pragmatic and generous approach; offering something to the EU whilst also being extremely clear on Northern Ireland, so I am content… Also, such decisions will be subject to British laws and courts. Likewise ‘binding commitments’ will be on the basis of normal international treaty law and not subject to the ECJ. So it has been a good week for the Prime Minister and a good day. She has shown that being strong and clear works. It is now for the Commission to respond with wisdom and not aggression. Jacob Rees-Mogg for the Telegraph (£) Gisela Stuart: Now is the time for Brussels to mirror May’s pragmatism When the UK voted to leave the EU, we also voted to leave the Single Market and Customs Union. In her speech today the Prime Minister has set out a pragmatic, detailed and constructive approach to building a future relationship that respects this new reality. Negotiations require cool heads and diplomacy. The UK has now provided more detail on our future relationship with the EU. Now Brussels should mirror the Prime Minister’s pragmatism to find a common ground. – Gisela Stuart for the Telegraph (£) Emma Duncan: Don’t assume Brexit attitudes will die out Lord Cooper of Windrush, a pollster and former Conservative Party strategist who is on Global Futures’ advisory board, concludes that the future is “open”. The age at which the number of “closed” people outnumbers the “open” ones — about 45 at present — is rising and “closed” people are dying off. “There is no good reason,” he says, “to believe the generation that has come of age in the last 25 years is going to change its worldview as it grows older.” As a fully paid-up member of the globalised metropolitan elite, so enthusiastic about openness that I had a refugee to stay for three months and boasted about it in The Times I very much hope he is right… But I’m not as convinced that things are going inexorably our way as Lord Cooper is. – Emma Duncan for The Times (£) Charles Moore: Any normal, sane person would get angry at Europe’s high-handed attitude If the representative of a foreign power (or powers) says that your country should be split for the greater convenience of that power (or powers), your reaction, if you are a normal person, is to get angry. This week, Michel Barnier did exactly that by saying that the EU would insist on Northern Ireland remaining inside the EU customs union when the rest of the UK moves outside it. At EU orders, the United Kingdom would have to impose customs checks between one part of its territory (Northern Ireland) and another (mainland Britain). In her tightly controlled way, Theresa May got angry. The Barnier plan would “threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK”, she said, stating plain fact. You – the same normal person I describe – would surely expect your nation’s senior politicians to protest at this suggested annexation, regardless of their views on Brexit. Yet, coinciding with M Barnier, two British ex-Prime Ministers spoke, and made no protest whatsoever. – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in Brief Enjoy the weekend Mrs May, as the EU is coming for you on Monday – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) How Theresa May can take advantage of Trump’s trade wars – Ross Clark for The Spectator The EU is petrified of post-Brexit Britain – Robert Bates of Get Britain Out for The Commentator Good news for industrial investment in post Brexit UK – John Redwood’s Diary La Dolce Vita is over for Italy’s Europhiles – Tom Gallagher for ConservativeWoman The EU has us bent over a barrel – Peter Divey for CommentCentral We have endured the EU’s insolence for too long: time to walk – Gerald Warner for Reaction Hotline helping businesses with strict new EU rules goes into meltdown – The Sun